Mending Fences
by hazeleyedmistress19862004
Summary: This is the story of a young woman named Jolie. Follow along as she relives memories leading of events that led to where she is today! This is complete fiction! NO COPYWRIGHT IS INTENDED WHATSOEVER! Read to see what characters are in the story.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I actually started this story quite a long time ago, but never actually finished it. Well, a couple of months ago... a friend of mine and special lil helper (you know who u are!) kept suggesting that I try and see what I could do with the story and maybe attempt to finish it. I thought about it and thought about it. It actually sounded possible. I had a few ideas in mind, but didn't exactly know how to put them to use. It kept nagging and nagging at me. That is until late one night while I was sitting at home watching "The Ladder Match" DVD. I just so happened to come across the match that the late Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio had at SummerSlam 2005 for the custody of Rey's son, Dominick. That started me in the right direction. That same night, I also happened to watch Chris Benoit's DVD, Hard Knocks, for the first time in quite some time. As soon as I had the foundation I just started rollin' with it. However, with Chris Benoit and his family being characters in the story, I was VERY hesitant about posting due to the events of June 2007.

* * *

My name is Jolie Coulthard. Coulthard is my married name. I was born Jolie Elizabeth Benoit on June 15th, 1980, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I was obviously quite a surprise to my parents, Michael and Margaret. They had just moved to Edmonton from Montreal with my older brother and sister. My brother was thirteen, my sister was eleven. Hence the reason for me coming along being a surprise. Most of you know my older brother, Chris. He is known to World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, fans as "The Crippler" or "The Rabid Wolverine".

Watching my brother going through everything he went through to break into the wrestling industry is something that I remember as quite a struggle for him both physically and mentally. I was very young when he started traveling to Calgary to learn how to wrestle. He was trained to wrestle in what is affectionately, and quite often, referred to as "The Dungeon" by the legendary promoter and trainer, Stu Hart, and the Hart Family. From there, he started working for Stu's wrestling promotion, Stampede Wrestling. Then he was given the opportunity to go to Mexico and Japan to wrestle. While in Japan, he wrestled as Pegasus Kid and Wild Pegasus. As he was wrestling in Japan, he also wrestled for World Championship Wrestling, or WCW. Chris wrestled in Japan and WCW until 1994, when he went to Extreme Championship Wrestling, or ECW.

From 1994 until 1995 he wrestled for Paul Heyman and ECW. In 1995, he went back to WCW, and Eric Bischoff. He spent from 1995 until 2000 working for Bischoff, until he, along with his two best friends, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero, and Perry Saturn, all decided to leave to come to Vince McMahon and WWE. WWE has been his "home away from home" ever since.

How does this all pertain to me? Well, other than Chris being my older brother, it would seem that in all actuality, it really doesn't. How wrong you would be in assuming that. How very wrong, indeed. You see, through Chris, both my sister, Lana, and I have met a lot of the people Chris has become close to over the years. Eddie, Dean, and Perry being among them. As a matter of fact, you could say that the wrestling industry has become just as much a normal part of my life as it has Chris's.

How you ask? Well, to be honest, you could say that the wrestling industry has inadvertently given me a lot of what I have in my life at this moment.

Eight years ago, I was backstage at show with Chris when I met a man that I instantly fell head over heels for. Being young and naïve, I truly and whole-heartedly believed that this was the man I was meant to be with for the rest of my life. I was twenty-two-years-old. What twenty-two-year-old knows any better? We started seeing each other. That in itself wasn't the easiest. For starters, he happened to be older than me. Quite a bit older than me. Ten years older to be exact.

The gap in age between him and I didn't bother either of us. At least to my knowledge. However, that wasn't our biggest problem. Our biggest hurdle to climb was the fact that at that time, I was still living, working, and going to college in Edmonton, while he was living and working here in the states. As it so happens, he was working for his father.

After about six months of being together, things had gotten pretty serious between us. We'd managed to find a way to make our relationship work for the both of us. That is when I found out I was pregnant. I couldn't believe it. I was scared to death, but at the same time, it also felt like a very natural progression to our relationship. Especially with the way he said he felt about me, and the plans that we were making for the future. There was never a doubt in my mind that he was the one for me.

Nothing in his demeanor or attitude could've prepared me for what happened when I told him that I was pregnant. His face went as white as a ghost. That was when he told me that he didn't want anything to do with the baby, or for that matter, he wanted nothing more to do with me. That was completely and totally mind-boggling to me. I couldn't understand why he would react that way.

The thought never crossed my mind that maybe I didn't know him as well as I thought I did until that moment. If someone would've asked me before telling him I was pregnant, I would've said that I knew him inside and out. The man that was standing in front of me, without missing a beat or even thinking twice about what he was saying, wasn't the man I had known and fallen so hard for.

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Please let me know what you think! I will post more if there's a good response to the story.


	2. Chapter 2

So, naturally that left me in a very awkward and extremely life-altering situation, with an enormous decision to make. I was a twenty-two-year-old kid; not married; working; in school; and now not only was I responsible for myself, but the life growing inside of me. I couldn't and didn't want to bring myself to believe that the father of my child truly meant when he said he wanted nothing to do with the child. I could live with him not wanting to be with me anymore, but in my opinion, a child needs both a mother and a father growing up no matter what the circumstances are.

I didn't have a clue in hell as to what I was going to do. Obviously, I knew what my options were. I could give birth to my baby and be the best damn mother I could possibly be, or I could give birth to my baby and place it up for adoption. Never in my wildest dreams did I for one second even consider the third alternative. I have nothing against people who choose that route, but as far as I was concerned, it was absolutely out of the question. To be perfectly honest, adoption didn't seem like much of an option to me, either.

Obviously, that only left me with one option and one option only. I was going to go through with my pregnancy. I was going to give birth to my baby, and become the best damn mother I could possibly be. Whatever I needed to do to make sure my baby was taken care of, I was going to do it. That meant there was a lot of growing up I was going to have to do. And I was going to have to do it quick. I was going to raise my baby, though. I was determined that my baby would know the love and affection and concept of family because of me and my family. Not some strangers.

Now that I had decided without a shadow of a doubt that I was going to keep my baby, that meant I was going to have to begin planning for what was about to happen.

Logically, at least in my mind, the first thing that I needed to do was tell my parents about the baby. And not just my parents, either. I was going to have to tell my entire immediate family. That meant telling Chris, his wife, Nancy, Lana, her husband Mark, and their families.

Going into telling my entire immediate family that I was pregnant was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I was much, much more than nervous about telling them. As a matter of fact, I was beyond nervous. To be quite honest, I was scared out of my ever-loving mind.

That year, while on Christmas break from school, I decided that was about as perfect of time as ever to tell them about the baby. Mind you, by then I was a couple months along in my pregnancy, I might add. I thought that our traditional family get-together at my parents house would be the perfect setting to tell them seeing as how all of my immediate family would be there.

Or at least I hoped more than words could explain that it would be the perfect setting.

I wanted to believe with my all my heart and soul that I had absolutely nothing to fear. After all, we'd always been a close, tight-knit family. I knew better, though. I knew that it was not going to be an easy conversation for me to have with family by any means.


	3. Chapter 3

Utter chaos is the best way to describe telling my family about my baby. I was already on pins and needles to begin with when I got to my parent's house. As I walked in the house, I found myself feeling even more nervous and anxious as I felt my pulse and heart rate quicken. At the front door, I slid out of my jacket and shoes, as I was greeted warmly by the men of my immediate family.

From there, I then made my way through the noisy and bustling living room to the kitchen where I found my mom, Lana, Nancy, and my niece Megan busily moving about and chatting, putting together dinner.

"Need any more help?" I asked, letting my presence be known.

"Aunt Jo-Jo!" Megan greeted me with a squeal of delight. She hurriedly jumped down from the bar-type stool she'd been occupying, and barreled right for me at full force, wrapping her arms around me as I scooped her up in my arms.

"Hi, Megan." I replied, looking into her sapphire-blue eyes and smiling at her. I looked in her eyes, and couldn't help but to think about how much she resembled my brother. "How's my girl doin'?" I wrapped my arms around her to draw her closer to me.

"I'm good, Aunt Jo-Jo, but I wanna open pwesents, though."

I couldn't help laughing at her response. At that time, she was only four-years-old, and the innocence in her eyes made me hopeful about what was ahead for me.

"Megan Renee Benoit… you were told that you, David, and Damien had to wait until after dinner to open your presents."

I set my niece down and turned to see Chris and my brother-in-law, Mark, standing with my nephews in the entry-way of the kitchen.

"Okay, daddy." Megan then followed Chris, Mark, and my nephews out of the kitchen.

With my niece's abrupt departure, that left me alone in the kitchen with my mom, Lana, and my sister-in law, Nancy. I was so uncomfortable that I don't even think I could find the words to adequately describe it.

"Hey, Jo-Jo. How ya doin'?" Nancy greeted me.

"I'm good, Nancy. How bout you?"

"I'm good. Been busy with Chris and the kids."

"I see that." I replied with a smile. I then turned my attention to my mom and Lana. "I see Chris and Nancy aren't the only one's busy with kids and all that fun stuff."

The evening went on in much of the same way, with conversation flowing throughout the entire house. I found that the uneasiness I felt walking in the door was unwarranted and it began melting away bit by bit. I felt myself letting my guard down as the night wore on.


	4. Chapter 4

I was surprised that our conversation continued with such ease. My mom, my sister, my sister-in-law, and I chatted openly and freely the entire time we finished preparing dinner.

Bit by bit, I found my guard dropping. I found myself relaxing more and more as time seemed to tick away.

That feeling continued as we set the table and we sat down to dinner as a family. I found that I was actually able to enjoy my family's company, and join in the conversation flowing around the table.

Boy was I ever wrong for doing that. Now… I don't mean that to sound like my family is a pack of ogres or something like that, because they're not. Far from it, in fact. I just mean that when you're the baby of the family, you tend to get teased. You get teased A LOT!

I felt very comforted by the fact we were enjoying each other's company as we filled our plates with food. Until my brother and brother-in-law decided they felt the need to tease me.

"Geez, sis."Chris said to me with a chuckle.

I looked up from my plate and locked eyes with my brother. "What?" I responded with confusion.

I remember my brother smiling his goofy, toothless smile as he started laughing. "A little hungry, are you?" he teased.

That is when my brother-in-law decided that he needed to toss his two-cents-worth into the conversation. "Jo Jo…" He laughed a deep, throaty laugh. "You lookin to add to your freshman fifteen?"

Now, don't get me wrong. I know my brother and brother-in-law meant absolutely no harm by their comments. I know that they were only joking. For some reason – which, to this day, I still have yet to figure out why – I took their comments to heart. Did I ever! "That's not funny, you guys." I snapped.

"Jo, they're only kidding around. Lighten up." Nancy piped in.

I glared at my sister-in-law as I heard my sister start laughing.

"What's so funny?" I growled, snapping my head in Lana's direction to lock eyes with her.

"You keep eatin like that, Jo-Jo, and you're gonna look like me." she replied.

As I said before, I knew they were all kidding, but Lana's comment was more than I could take at that moment. I didn't want to tell my family about my baby that way. I didn't want to just blurt it out, and I certainly didn't want them to figure it out by my sister calling attention to her own pregnant belly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Lana?" I snapped.

Lana looked at me with shock in her eyes. "Jo-Jo… relax! I was just kiddin."

I remember glaring at my sister again as I angrily pushed away from the dining room table, and threw my napkin down as I stood up. "Don't tell me to relax! I'm so sick of being told to relax when I don't need to!"

When I was finished with my impromptu tirade, I walked out of the dining room, through the living room to grab my coat and shoes, and out of the house. I was so upset, I sat down on the swing that my parents had on their front porch and started sobbing.

I must've sat there for at least five minutes before I heard the front screen door close and saw Lana waddling toward me. She sat down next to me and wrapped her arm around my shoulder.

"Jo-Jo… I really was only kiddin. You know Mark and Chris were, too."

I took a deep breath to calm down. I felt a little more in control of myself after that. "I know, sis. I just…" I let my voice trail off. I wasn't comfortable enough to finish my sentence. At least not at the point in time.

Lana's eyes filled with concern. And I could tell that much without even looking at her. She, Chris, and I had always been close, despite our age gap. We had always had our own unique ways of communicating with each other for as long as I could remember.

"You just what? What the hell is going on with you?" Lana asked me after a few minutes of silence.

"It's too damn cold out here. Let's head back inside where it's warmer." I replied.

Yes, I was changing the subject. I hadn't built enough courage to tell my family my secret at that point. Lana knew what I was doing. I knew she would catch on. I never really had been able to lie to her, or any of my family.

"Just so you know… I know something's going on with you, and that you're trying to get out of telling us what it is." she shot back as we walked to the front door.

We walked back into the house and slipped back out of our shoes and jackets, then made our way back into the dining room. Everyone had gone completely silent as Lana and I sat back down at the table. I started to feel uncomfortable and uneasy.

I can honestly say that I wish I could find the right words to adequately explain the tension radiating from that dining room, but I wouldn't do it justice by any means whatsoever.

I felt everyone's eyes boring through me, which only served to make me even more anxious and nervous.


	5. Chapter 5

I looked around the room at each member of my family as their stares bored through me. I saw the shock and wonder in each set of the eyes fixated on me.

"What?" I asked, finally breaking the unbearable silence.

"What was that all about, Jolie?" Chris asked me.

I could tell by the tone of his voice and the look in his sapphire orbs had quickly changed from shock and wonder to confusion and a hint of anger. I knew he was speaking for my entire family with that question. It was a very viable, logical and understandable question, after all.

"What are you talking about, Chris?" I replied.

It was no use, though. I knew then that my family was seeing right through my feeble attempt at some semblance of a façade. It was blatantly obvious they weren't convinced whatsoever.

"You know what I'm talking about, Jolie." Chris spat back.

I sighed. I knew it was now or never as far as telling my family my secret was concerned. I knew there was no way around it at that point.

"Chris, Lana and I were just jokin' around with you, Jo-Jo." Mark drawled, putting his two-cents worth in before anyone said anything else.

"I know, Mark. " I looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry for over reacting. I just…" I let my voice trail off, unable to finish my sentence.

"Just what, Jo-Jo?" Lana asked with concern.

I stood there, frozen in my tracks. I couldn't answer my sister's question. I took a deep breath to gather the courage needed to tell my secret.

"Jolie… tell us what is going on with you, please." my mother pleaded with me.

Hearing my mother plead with me like that, and the concern I saw in her eyes was like a dagger being shoved straight through my heart. It was almost more than I could take. I remember thinking to myself, _might as well get it over with and stop being such a damn coward_.

"Jolie…" This time it was my dad's voice I heard. I quickly snapped back to reality.

"Alright…" I began. I looked at my family, hoping my face wouldn't give away the knots I felt twisting like a screwdriver twisting a screw in my stomach. "I **do **have something that I need to tell you."


	6. Chapter 6

The looks in the eyes of each member of my family were nothing short of shock, confusion and wonder as to what I could possibly have to tell them. I found myself feeling shocked at the wide array of emotion on their faces as I looked around the room. It wasn't how I'd always envisioned it working out, but then again, nothing about this situation was "normal" by any means.

There was no beating around the bush anymore. It was quite obvious I had their undivided attention, and that were all ready to listen to what I had to say.

Actually, that was probably the understatement of the century!

I did any and everything I could possibly think of to stall longer. I felt my heart rate and pulse quicken as I began to tremble nervously. "All I ask is that none of you freak out on me or act judgmental." I said, my voice quivering slightly.

"Jolie… for god sakes… just spit it out already!" Lana snapped.

I again glared at my sister. "Lana, shut up!" I hoped she could see the frustration in my eyes. "This is hard enough for me, and I surely don't need you making things worse."

I remember seeing Lana's eyes widen as big as saucers at my response. I knew then, without a shadow of doubt, she had an idea as to what my secret was.

"Oh. My. God." Lana managed to choke out.

"What?" That was, of course, the only logical response I could muster.

I don't think I could accurately depict the look on her face at that moment, but I do know it's a look that I will **never **forget. It was a look that I'm sure will probably haunt my memories for as long as I live.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" she asked with disdain in her voice.

I felt the color drain from my face at that moment. I saw my family's look of anticipation and shock as they waited for my answer.

The point of no return had been reached. "Yes, I am." I replied.

Obviously, it wasn't the way I would've liked to have told them, but the fact of the matter was, I hadn't exactly had a succinct plan in my head to tell my family per se. As you might've guessed, my news was quite a bombshell. Some seemed more accepting of the news than others, though. I was quite relieved by that fact.

"Who's the father?" Chris asked inquisitively.

I sighed again. I realized then that I wasn't prepared for this part of the conversation whatsoever. I was, however, relieved that the tone in my brother's voice was curiosity and not judgment or disdain. I could tell he was among those in my family who would accept my baby. "Why does that matter, Chris?" I replied hesitantly.

Chris and Mark shared a glance between each other and I noticed it right away. It made me very nervous. I knew they had an idea as far as the answer to their question was concerned.

"I would just like to know." Chris answered.

It wasn't what Chris said in response to my question that unnerved me beyond words. It was the ice – like chill in his voice. "Chris… you can't always be the protective older brother." I looked at him nervously. I could almost venture to guess what was going through his mind.

Chris eyed me with an eerie calm and cool demeanor. To make it worse, the smile he flashed only served to confirm what I had been suspecting. I guess somewhere deep down, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Chris and Mark already knew who the father of my baby was. After all, I met him because of the two of them. "Not trying to be the protective big brother, Jo-Jo. Just would like to know who the lucky guy is." he replied.

I ignored my brother's response when I heard Lana get up from the table again. I looked at her and noticed she had a disgusted look on her face. I couldn't understand or comprehend why, either. "What's your problem?" I asked somewhat sarcastically.

"You're seriously pregnant?" she replied with equal sarcasm.

"Yes, Lana." I paused for a moment in order to keep my composure. "I'm seriously pregnant."

That seemed to only disgust her more. The look on her face got worse as she maintained eye contact with me. "How could you do this to yourself, Jolie?" she asked.

"I beg your pardon?" I replied defensively.

"Lana, stop." Mark looked at Lana with a very stern expression. "This is nobody's business but Jolie's."

That only earned him a glare from Lana. She was determined to give a piece of her mind. That much was obvious to everyone. "Mark…" She returned his stern look. "Don't tell me what to do. Jolie is my baby sister, and I for one, will be damned if I stand by and watch her ruin her life by giving birth to a bastard child."

"Lana, that was completely uncalled for and you know it."

I was lost in the fact that my own sister had called my baby a bastard child, but I was alert enough to recognize the male voice that scolded Lana. It was my father's voice.

"No, dad, it wasn't. I don't think it was uncalled for at all." Lana shot back.

That was more than I was willing to take. I certainly wasn't going to let Lana treat me like that. "You know what, Lana…" I again stood up angrily from the table. "You're nothing but a damn hypocrite."

"Oh, really?" she replied.

"Yeah, really." I growled.

Lana scoffed angrily. "How do you figure?" she asked, every ounce of her voice oozing with disdain.

"How do I figure?" I repeated angrily.

"Did I stutter?"

I couldn't believe that the person standing in front of me was my older sister. I couldn't believe that she was basically turning her back on me. I couldn't understand her attitude toward my baby, and at that point, I wasn't sure I really even wanted to. "You're nothing more than a damn hypocrite right now, Lana. How dare you call my baby a bastard child." I spat back.

"How am I being a hypocrite, Jolie?" She had a look of arrogance on her face. "I'm only speaking the plain, brutal truth and you know it."

"Lana… the last thing I need right now is someone who's only going to be hypocritical and judgmental." I hope she could hear the bitter tone to my voice. "I need a sister right now… nothing more."

"See, that's where you're wrong, my dear sister. You need someone who isn't going to lie to you and tell you what you want to hear. You need someone who isn't going to coddle you all the time."

"I cannot believe you're acting like this, Lana."

"Okay, Jolie. Whatever you say. If me telling you the truth and being honest with you makes me a hypocrite, then I guess that's what I am."

I looked at her with sadness in my eyes. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She was supposed to be my older sister who was always there for me. I felt like I didn't even know the person I was talking to. "You honestly don't see how hypocritical and hurtful you're being right now, do you?" I murmured.

I fervently hoped Lana would be able to recognize the hurt and raw pain written all over my face. I wanted her to realize the depth of pain she was causing and it was then that I realized I was actually wishing pain upon my own sister.

"I don't think I'm being hypocritical at all, Jolie. You're not ready to be a mother." she replied matter-of-factly.

"Girls, stop this, for god sakes. You two are sisters, goddamn it."

Looking at my mother after that outburst was absolutely unbearable and heartbreaking for me. I remember seeing tears welling up in her eyes and feeling angry beyond words with Lana.

While it might've seemed childish and immature to anyone else, I blamed Lana solely for causing those tears. I completely disregarded the bombshell I'd dropped. My thought was that if Lana would've been more supportive of me instead of being judgmental and hypocritical, the evening wouldn't have taken such a sour turn.

"That's real rich coming from you, Lana. You've already got a son, and you're eight months pregnant with your second child!"

"That's completely different!"

"Oh, really?" I glared at her. I was not going to concede. "If my memory serves me correctly… you and Mark weren't exactly married when you had Damien."

"We got married after he was born." she growled.

"My point exactly, Lana." I eyed her intently and smugly. I knew I was right in standing my ground with her. "You weren't exactly ready to be a wife or a mother at that point, but we all stood behind you and supported your decision."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I knew then that this was a turning point. She would either see things from my perspective or she would continue to feel the way she obviously did. "We all knew you loved Mark, and that he loved you. We all knew that you two were meant for each other. That's why we all supported you two and everything that went along with that." I put my hand to my belly. "All I am asking is for you to do the same for me."

Obviously, there were differentiating circumstances that surrounded my situation as opposed to my sister's. Those would be dealt with when the time came.

"So are you telling us that you and the father of your baby are going to get married and raise the baby together?" she asked.

I rubbed my forehead in frustration. I couldn't understand why she was being so damn infuriating. "Alright, Lana…" At this point, I was like a bull seeing red. "You want the truth?" I felt my anger reaching a boiling over point. "No, we aren't getting married, and no, we aren't going to raise the baby together."

"So you're going to raise the baby, work and go to school?"

"Lots of women are single moms and are able to work and go to school." I replied.

"And how the hell do you plan on managing that?" she asked.

"You know what, Lana…" I took a deep breath to steel myself. "Just because you're my older sister doesn't give you the right to judge or run **my** life."

"Well, obviously, someone does cause you sure as hell don't know to."

"Fortunately, that's not your job."

I put my shoes and coat back on, knowing full-well my family would never be the same again. I walked out of my parent's house with a very heavy heart.


	7. Chapter 7

That moment in my life, as fate would have it, was the beginning of a long journey for me.

Despite my sister's feelings toward my baby, I maintained close contact with Mark and the rest of my family for quite some time. I realized quickly that I had been completely wrong about my family never being the same again after Lana and I's argument.

As I said in the beginning of my story, my married name is Coulthard. You all might be shocked and surprised to know that not only do my brother and brother-in-law work for World Wrestling Entertainment, my husband, Sean, does as well.

For those of you who are members of the WWE Universe like I am, you know Sean as the corky play-by-play announcer on Monday Night Raw, Michael Cole.

Believe it or not, I actually met Sean through Mark. Both he and Chris, along with the rest of my family, decided that they wanted to help me as much as possible. Though it seemed like Mark and Chris were there for me the most. As embarrassing as it sounds, that even included dating.

As much as I didn't want to, I actually have to admit they were not all that bad in choosing guys they thoughts I would like. I met a lot of people and had a tremendous amount of fun meeting all sorts of people along the way.

To anyone on the outside of the situation, they would have thought that was all I needed at that moment. More often than not, I would have more than likely with those people. I would have been satisfied with that.

There was one problem that I kept facing along the way, though. It seemed like no matter what happened, I couldn't move past it.

It seemed like every time the guy that Mark or Chris set me up with found out about my pregnancy, they freaked out and took off. Not that I blame them.

That is until Mark introduced me to Sean.

When I met Sean, I was 6 ½ months pregnant by that time. At that point, I'd kind of given up on the whole dating scene. I wasn't looking for a relationship because the more I thought about it, the more I realized how wrong dating while I was pregnant seemed. And because of the reactions I had been getting up to that point. At that point, I was just looking for friends. For someone I could trust, confide in and lean on when I needed to.

Meeting Sean blew that all out of the water. Sean completely shocked me with how accepting he was of me – my pregnancy included.

He came into my life when I least expected it and became my knight in shining armor. I quickly came to depend on him for almost everything.

My family – with the exception of my sister, of course – couldn't have been happier for me. They accepted Sean with open arms into our family. They didn't even seem to mind the age gap between us. As long as I was happy and was sure of wanting to be with him, they were behind me one-hundred percent.


	8. Chapter 8

Sean and I had been dating for 2 ½ months when I when I went into labor with my baby. I gave birth to a happy, healthy, beautiful, bouncing baby girl ten days after my twenty-third birthday. I decided to name her Hannah Isabella Benoit.

I decided to give her my last name. I was adamant about that. I was not going to let her carry her absentee father's last name by any means.

I found myself saddened more than I thought I would've been at such a joyous time in my adult life. When I was filling out Hannah's birth certificate, they asked about her father's name. I wished more than ever that I could put Sean's name in the space allotted, but I knew legally that I couldn't.

A week after I gave birth to Hannah, I was discharged from the hospital and brought her home.

We were sitting on the couch in the house we now share together, watching a movie as Hannah slept. I remember thinking how perfect the moment was. I found myself thinking I couldn't have happier even if I tried.

That's when Sean blew my mind again.

"I want to adopt Hannah." he said to me.

I couldn't believe it. His unexpected, out-of-the-blue comment broke the silence between us. It almost didn't seem real. Too good to be true. "You're serious?" I replied, maneuvering myself to lock eyes with him.

"Yeah, I am." His eyes held mine. "Matter of fact…" He paused for a moment as his eyebrows pulled together in thought. "I don't think I've ever been more serious in my life."

"I don't know what to say." I replied hoarsely.

"Say you'll let me adopt her."

I took a deep breath to compose myself. "Of course, I will, Sean. I just…" I let my voice trail off, unable to finish my sentence. I turned away from him. I didn't want him to see the tears welling up in my eyes.

He gently cupped my chin in the palm of his hand and lifted it back up toward him. "You just what, Jolie?" he asked with concern.

"I just don't know if her father will allow that."

His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. I could tell he didn't understand my response. "But I thought you said he told you he wanted nothing to do with her." he replied.

"He did." I choked back the lump that rose in my throat. "I'm just worried something is gonna go wrong."

"Go wrong?"

I sighed. I realized then that I had yet to do actually deal with the pain Hannah's father had inflicted upon me. I had yet to get the closure I needed. "It seems like when things start going good in my life, it ends up getting ruined." I tried to mask the hurt in my voice, but I knew he would see through it. "I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed."

"I'm not going anywhere, Jolie." His voice was stern, but gentle. "I want to be the one Hannah calls daddy. I want to give the two of you **my **last name. To provide for the two of you."

Everything in his voice and eyes told me he was serious. I smiled at him. "I want that too." I meant those words with every fiber of my being.

"Then marry me and let me adopt Hannah."

"You're either crazy or very brave." I teased him.

That conversation started us down the path of getting plans set in motion for us to get married and for Sean to adopt Hannah.


	9. Chapter 9

Six months after that conversation, Sean and I got married. Our wedding wasn't anything extravagant by any means. We kept it limited to just our close friends and family. Next to giving birth to my daughter, that was the happiest day of my life up to that point.

I couldn't have asked for a better day that day. Both of our families were there to support us. I fervently wished Lana would find it in her heart to change her mind. I wanted her to be my matron of honor. To be there to stand behind me in the decisions I'd made up to that point. She wouldn't relent, though. I felt somewhat out of sorts not seeing my sister and her children with her husband.

My father proudly walked me down the aisle and both he and my mother gave me away to Sean with their complete blessing. I couldn't hide the tears in my eyes or the smile on my face throughout the ceremony. When Sean lifted my veil, I smiled warmly at him as he bent down to tenderly kiss me. I smiled widely as the official introduced us to our friends and family as husband and wife for the first time. I proudly intertwined my arm with his as we walked back up the aisle.

We celebrated our happy day with our guests late into the night that night.

I immersed myself into life with Sean and Hannah completely, which meant I lost quite a bit of contact with my family. I dedicated myself to getting through school, working, and being the best mother and wife I could possibly be.

We settled down in Texas, which was hard for me to adjust to at first. I did, though. Life couldn't have been any better for me.

Hannah was a year old when I attempted to contact her biological father. To say that I was nervous was an understatement. It was the first time I'd even tried to contact him since I told him I was pregnant. I knew had to talk to him, though. In order for Sean to legally adopt Hannah, I had to convince him to terminate all of his paternal rights.

As it turns out, when I finally got him to actually talk to me, he was more than willing to comply with the termination of his paternal rights. I felt a knot rise up from the pit of my stomach and lodge right in my throat. I couldn't believe, even after the year that had passed, the ease in which he was able to walk away from his responsibility to Hannah.

I was relieved beyond words that hurdle had been dealt with. I was relieved that Hannah would never know the pain of rejection from her own biological father. I was all the more appreciative for Sean at that moment. Because of him, she would know the true love of a father. He may not have been her biological father and share DNA with her, but Sean would be a father to her in every way that would actually matter later on. I knew that without a shadow of a doubt from that moment on.


End file.
